$5K Reward Offered for Stolen Plow Trucks

Police in Manchester, New Hampshire, are asking for the public’s help in locating three plow trucks which were stolen in a two-day period. (Published Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014)

Three heavy duty plow trucks worth more than $150,000 were stolen from a New Hampshire parking lot at the beginning of the week, and police are looking for the suspects and the vehicles.

Association Manager Vickie Grandmaison says it's not unusual for Morin's Landscaping to leave trucks at Oak Brook Condo parking lot in Manchester before or after a big storm like the one last week. Police say it was a bold move as the criminals came in and stole two of the trucks in the middle of the day in front of several witnesses on Monday.

"Yeah, I saw them when they left, it was a time when I was just looking out the window," Grandmaison said.

She didn't think anything of it when at about 1:30 Monday afternoon, she watched two Morin's Landscaping trucks pull out of the complex.

"They were just picking up their trucks as far as we understood," Grandmaison said.

It turns out Grandmaison was actually watching a theft in progress. The third truck disappeared by early Tuesday morning, which is when the company called Grandmaison to find out if she had seen anything unusual. She said she hadn't.

"They just came in and acted like regular employees and took off with the trucks," Grandmaison said.

The trucks are GMC Sierra 3500 flat beds with distinctive green paint, white roofs and Morin's logo on the doors. Two of the trucks have V-style stainless steel plows and one has a yellow plow. That equipment is what police say these criminals were after.

"It can be a lucrative industry, that's why people want to take the items and chop them up and strip them," Sgt. Brian O'Keefe said. "They'll take the plows and put them on a legitimate truck that they can register under a legitimate VIN number and now it's gone forever."

The trucks are worth more than $50,000 each and now the National Insurance Crime Bureau is involved in the investigation.

"Ultimately, insurance crimes affect all of us in an adverse manner," Sgt. O'Keefe said.

A representative at Morin's Landscaping declined an interview, but tells NECN the company has enough trucks and employees to continue servicing longtime customers, especially the Oak Brook community.

"We've kept them here with us because they do a good job," Grandmaison said. "I am devastated, I feel bad for the company."

The people responsible for this could face a felony charge and at least seven years behind bars for each stolen vehicle. The owner of Morin's is offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 603-792-5566.